A common electrical device such as a personal computer generally includes a plurality of electrical parts which are connected to each other by connectors. In many electrical assemblies used in such electrical devices, two circuit boards are connected to each other by an elongate electrical connector.
Part of a conventional electrical assembly 1 is illustrated in FIG. 5. The electrical assembly 1 includes a main circuit board 10, a connector 11, and a flexible printed circuit 12. The main circuit board 10 electrically is connected to the flexible printed circuit 12 by the connector 11.
Referring to FIG. 6, this shows the flexible printed circuit 12 disconnected from the main circuit board 10. The main circuit board 10 includes two sub-circuit boards (not labeled) welded together. An indention portion (not labeled) is formed at the center of an end of the main circuit board 10. The connector 11 includes a plug slot 111 and a plug body 112. The plug slot 111 is attached to the indention portion of the main circuit board 10. Each sub-circuit board of the main circuit board 10 includes two L-shaped parts 100 generally at two opposite sides of the indention portion respectively. Each L-shaped part 100 includes a bottom wall 102 and a side wall 103 perpendicular to each other.
The connector 11 includes the plug slot 111 and the plug body 112, with the plug body 112 being attached to the flexible printed circuit 12. The plug slot 111 has a plurality of indentations 115 formed at an interface thereof, and a plurality of electrical contacts fixed in the indentations 115 respectively. Two fixing boles 114 are defined in two opposite ends of the plug slot 111 respectively. Two symmetrically opposite wedges 113 are attached at two opposite ends of the plug body 112 respectively, corresponding to the fixing boles 114 of the plug slot 111. A plurality of pins 121 is arranged in a row on each of top and bottom sides of the plug body 112. The pins 121 are arranged to correspond to the indentations 115 of the plug slot 111. The main circuit board 10 includes a plurality of input and/or output circuits (not visible) formed at either or both sides of the sub-circuit boards thereof. The input and/or output circuits are electrically connected to the electrical contacts of the indentations 115 of the plug slot 111.
In assembly of the electrical assembly 1, firstly, the plug body 112 attached to the flexible printed circuit 12 is aligned with the plug slot 111 attached to the main circuit board 10. Secondly, the pins 121 of the plug body 112 are inserted into the indentations 115 of the plug slot 111. Simultaneously, the wedges 113 are pushed outward by the ends of the plug slot 111. Thirdly, once the pins 121 are fully received in the indentations 115, the wedges 113 resiliently snap into the fixing holes 114 respectively and fix the plug body 112 and the plug slot 111 together. In this position, the pins 121 are in electrical contact with the circuits of the main circuit board 10. Thus, the main circuit board 10 and the flexible printed circuit 12 are mechanically and electrically connected together.
There are a number of difficulties that may be experienced in the above-described assembly process. First, the distance spanned by the two wedges 113 is only slightly less than the distance between the two pairs of side walls 103 at opposite sides of the indention portion of the main circuit board 10. Therefore it can be difficult to bring the plug body 112 close to the plug slot 111 in alignment with the plug slot 111. Second, for similar reasons, the wedges 113 are liable to scrape the side walls 103 when the pins 121 of the plug body 112 are inserted into the indentations 115 of the plug slot 111. Third, the wedges 113 may not be fully or properly received in the fixing holes 114. When this happens, the electrical connection between any one or more of the pins 121 of the plug body 112 in the corresponding indentations 115 may be faulty or unreliable or even lost altogether.
Accordingly, what is needed is an electrical assembly configured to overcome the above-described problems.